System and method for dual-band backhaul radio

ABSTRACT

A method and system are provided. The system includes a communication system including a first transmitter/receiver operating on a first frequency and a second transmitter/receiver operating on a second frequency. The system also includes a controller monitoring at least one of interference and throughput on the first and second transmitter/receiver and shifting demand based on the monitoring.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Non-Provisional U.S. Patent Application is a continuation of andclaims the benefit of Non-Provisional U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/833,038, filed on Aug. 21, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,843,940, issuedDec. 12, 2017, which is a continuation of and claims the benefit ofNon-Provisional U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/183,329, filed onFeb. 18, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,191,081, issued Nov. 17, 2015, whichclaims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/775,408,filed on Mar. 8, 2013. All of the aforementioned disclosures are herebyincorporated by reference herein in their entireties including allreferences and appendices cited therein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to systems and methods for a dual-bandbackhaul radio. In particular, the present system and method enableshigher reliability data transmission radios by utilizing more than onefrequency band to leverage uncorrelated interference between frequencybands.

BACKGROUND

MIMO systems in general utilize multiple antennae at both thetransmitter and receiver to improve communication performance betweenthe transmitter and receiver. MIMO systems may allow for thecommunication of different information on each of a plurality ofantennae via the transmitter, even using the same frequency. These MIMOsystems may compensate for both frequency and time discrepancies.Exemplary systems that utilize MIMO technology include, but are notlimited to, wireless Internet service providers (ISP), worldwideinteroperability for microwave access (WiMAX) systems, and 4G long-termevolution (LTE) data transmission systems.

A master antenna may include a baseband radio and two chains ofcommunication through vertically and horizontally polarized antennas.The master antenna may have a connection for power and datacommunications, typically shared through an interface such aspower-over-Ethernet. A slave antenna connected by coaxial cable to themaster antenna includes circuitry to compensate for cable loss and splitthe transmit and receive paths. The slave antenna provides communicationover another pair of vertically and horizontally polarized antennae.With adequate physical separation between the pair of dishes on each endof a long distance link, a phase angle difference between the verticaland horizontal antenna elements allows four distinct channels ofcommunication to occur as a result of MIMO processing.

SUMMARY

According to some embodiments, the present technology may be directed toa method for multiple input multiple output (MIMO) multi-frequencytransmission of data by a MIMO radio comprising a first and second setof antennae, wherein the first and second set of antennae each comprisea vertically polarized antenna and a horizontally polarized antenna. Insome instances, the method includes: (a) transmitting or receiving dataon the first set of antennae using a first frequency; and (b)transmitting or receiving the data on the second set of antennae using asecond frequency.

The present technology may also be directed to a multiple input multipleoutput (MIMO) transceiver. The MIMO radio may include: (a) a processor;(b) a memory for storing multi-frequency transmission logic; (c) a firstset of antennae comprising a first vertically polarized antenna and afirst horizontally polarized antenna; (d) a second set of antennaecomprising a second vertically polarized antenna and a secondhorizontally polarized antenna; (e) wherein the processor executes themulti-frequency transmission logic to cause the first set of antennae totransmit or receive data using a first frequency, and the second set ofantennae to transmit or receive the data using a second frequency.

The present technology may also be directed to a wireless network thatincludes a plurality of MIMO radios, each comprising: (a) a processor;(b) a memory for storing multi-frequency transmission logic; (c) a firstset of antennae comprising a first vertically polarized antenna and afirst horizontally polarized antenna, the first set of antennae beingconfigured to transmit or receive data using a first frequency; (d) asecond set of antennae comprising a second vertically polarized antennaand a second horizontally polarized antenna, the first set of antennaebeing configured to transmit or receive data using a first frequencywhich is different from the first frequency; and (e) wherein a firstportion of the MIMO radios are configured to transmit data using theirfirst and second sets of antennae, while a second portion of the MIMOradios are configured to receive data from the first portion of the MIMOradios using their first and second sets of antenna.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, where like reference numerals refer toidentical or functionally similar elements throughout the separateviews, together with the detailed description below, are incorporated inand form part of the specification, and serve to further illustrateembodiments of concepts that include the claimed disclosure, and explainvarious principles and advantages of those embodiments.

The methods and systems disclosed herein have been represented whereappropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only thosespecific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments ofthe present disclosure so as not to obscure the disclosure with detailsthat will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the arthaving the benefit of the description herein.

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of single dish radio illustrating twoconcentric and coaxial waveguides and an exemplary arrangement of twoantenna probes in each waveguide.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view of single dish radio of FIG. 1 inwhich the two vertical polarized waveguides.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary a portion of an exemplary 4×4 MIMO radiosystem for practicing aspects of the present technology.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary method for multiple input multipleoutput (MIMO) multi-frequency transmission of data.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary computing system that may be used toimplement embodiments according to the present technology.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram for a dual-channel 5 GHz only system.

DESCRIPTION

In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the disclosure. It will be apparent, however, to oneskilled in the art, that the disclosure may be practiced without thesespecific details. In other instances, structures and devices are shownat block diagram form only in order to avoid obscuring the disclosure.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with the embodiment is includedin at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, theappearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” or“according to one embodiment” (or other phrases having similar import)at various places throughout this specification are not necessarily allreferring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features,structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner inone or more embodiments. Furthermore, depending on the context ofdiscussion herein, a singular term may include its plural forms and aplural term may include its singular form. Similarly, a hyphenated term(e.g., “on-demand”) may be occasionally interchangeably used with itsnon-hyphenated version (e.g., “on demand”), a capitalized entry (e.g.,“Software”) may be interchangeably used with its non-capitalized version(e.g., “software”), a plural term may be indicated with or without anapostrophe (e.g., PE's or PEs), and an italicized term (e.g., “N+1”) maybe interchangeably used with its non-italicized version (e.g., “N+1”).Such occasional interchangeable uses shall not be consideredinconsistent with each other.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

It is noted at the outset that the terms “coupled,” “connected”,“connecting,” “electrically connected,” etc., are used interchangeablyherein to generally refer to the condition of beingelectrically/electronically connected. Similarly, a first entity isconsidered to be in “communication” with a second entity (or entities)when the first entity electrically sends and/or receives (whetherthrough wireline or wireless means) information signals (whethercontaining data information or non-data/control information) to thesecond entity regardless of the type (analog or digital) of thosesignals. It is further noted that various figures (including componentdiagrams) shown and discussed herein are for illustrative purpose only,and are not drawn to scale.

A dual-band 5 GHz and 24 GHz system (MIMO radio), using 4×4 MIMO 802.11ac, provides four-stream communication. The system places two signals inorthogonal polarizations within each band. Because the outage conditionsin the two bands are uncorrelated (24 GHz fades with rain, 5 GHz isimpaired by manmade interference), the dual-band radio can providehigher reliability than a single-band radio. Using the provideddual-band backhaul radio, a 1 Gb/sec. transmission rate is possible.

Similarly, such as the system 600 of FIG. 6, a dual-channel 5 GHz onlysystem (MIMO radio), using a 4×4 MIMO 802.11 ac, provides four-streamcommunication. The system places two signals in orthogonal polarizationusing two orthogonal antennas, such as antenna 605 and 610, each antennatransmitting or receiving on dual channels in the same 5 GHz band. Sucha system is realized utilizing a single 4×4 baseband processor and dual2×2 RF converters tuned to different channels in the 5 GHz band. Acustom RF front-end 615 is utilized that provides an optimal performanceon receiver noise figure, by sharing a low noise amplifier 620 for dualchannels on the same polarization, while distinct power amplifiers 625and 630 provide enough isolation between the dual channels to avoidintermodulation distortion. Outputs of the power amplifiers are combinedusing a hybrid coupler 640 before going to a transmit-receive switch 645utilized in TDD systems, thus exploiting the same antennae for dualchannels. Since 5 GHz impairments are channel specific, the dual-bandradio utilizes two channels and can thus provide higher reliability thana single-band radio. Using the provided dual-band backhaul radio, a 1Gb/sec. transmission rate is possible.

The present technology provides a 4×4 MIMO transmission by making thefour chains orthogonal through both polarization and frequency. A fourstream MIMO link is typically communicated through four transmit andfour receive antennas that are not necessarily orthogonal, but whichhave adequate spatial diversity to allow a pre- and post-processing ofthe signals to create orthogonality. In the dual-band radio conceivedhere, the pre- and post-processing may be minimal, since twopolarizations (orthogonal) are on one band, and two polarizations(orthogonal) are on another band. The frequency separation createsorthogonality. Two reasons to use a 4×4 MIMO radio are (a) it is arelatively inexpensive and available way to aggregate four data streams,and (b) there is likely to be some rotation of the antenna polarizationsfrom end-to-end, which requires a matrix rotation to bring them backinto orthogonality before demodulation. The four data streams using twodifferent frequencies and different polarizations within each frequencyare inherently orthogonal, which facilitates processing. In particular,a QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) decoder may be used to separatethe four data streams from a dual-band 4×4 MIMO radio.

An exemplary implementation of the dual-band radio could be with eithertwo dishes (one for each band), or just a single dish. The two dishsolution is simpler to implement, but the single dish may be moredesirable due to reduced hardware requirements.

FIGS. 1 and 2 collectively illustrate an exemplary embodiment of asingle dish design of a dual-band 4×4 MIMO radio 100 for a 5 GHz and 24GHz system. In single dish radio 100 there may be four antenna probes incoaxial waveguides, for example. Two smaller probes for 24 GHz, whichmay be about 3 mm long, are placed in horizontal and verticalorientations (or any other 90 degree arrangement) in the insidewaveguide. That is, the radio 100 may include a first verticallypolarized antenna 105 and a first horizontally polarized antenna 110.

Two longer probes for 5 GHz, which may be about 12 mm long, are in theouter annular region. The energy from all four probes may then hit asub-reflector, or feed directly to a primary dish. More specifically,the radio 100 may include a second vertically polarized antenna 115 anda second horizontally polarized antenna 120. These two antennae may bereferred to as the first set of antennae.

FIG. 1 is a top view of single dish radio 100 illustrating the twoconcentric and coaxial waveguides 125 and 130, and an exemplaryarrangement of two antenna probes in each waveguide. For example, anouter waveguide 125 is configured to receive the first set of antennae,which includes the first vertically polarized antenna 105 and the firsthorizontally polarized antenna 110. These two antennae may be spacedapart from one another in vertical positioning to enhance spatialdiversity. Similarly, the radio 100 may include an inner waveguide 130that is configured to receive the second set of antennae, which includesthe second vertically polarized antenna 115 and the second horizontallypolarized antenna 120. These two antennae may be spaced apart from oneanother in vertical positioning to enhance spatial diversity.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the inner diameter of the outer waveguide 125 may be38 millimeters, and the inner diameter of the inner waveguide may be 9millimeters. Two 5 GHz antenna probes may be arranged in the outerwaveguide 125 in a horizontal and a vertical position, and two 24 GHzantenna probes may be arranged in the inner waveguide 130 in ahorizontal and a vertical position, as described above. The two verticalantenna probes may be arranged on opposite sides of their respectivewaveguides, and likewise the two horizontal probes may be arranged onopposite sides of their respective waveguides. Still further alternativearrangements are possible.

Four single dish radios 100 may be positioned at one location accordingto FIG. 3, or in an alternative arrangement. Alternatively, each singledish radio 100 may be directed at another dual-band radio, for exampleanother single dish radio 100, at another location. By the virtue of thepolarization and frequency diversity, an 80 MHz radio (in two bands),for example, can provide the equivalent throughput of a 320 MHz radiooperating with a single polarization. Furthermore, even in a two dishembodiment, the two dishes may not need to be physically separated sincethe orthogonality is occurring in frequency, rather than using MIMOprocessing to create orthogonality from spatial diversity alone.

Telecommunication carriers and/or Internet service providers want highreliability. Unlicensed spectrum includes both 5 GHz and 24 GHz, andthese two bands have different impairments. 24 GHz is weather-sensitive(e.g., suffers impairment due to rain), and has limited powertransmission. 5 GHz is affected by consumer interference, since thisband is shared with consumer electronics. Since the two bands haveuncorrelated failure modes, used together they have higher netreliability. In particular, using 5 GHz and 24 GHz together in a 4×4MIMO radio with two polarized streams in one band and two polarizedstreams in another band provides improved reliability and datathroughput.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary a portion of an exemplary 4×4 MIMO radiosystem for practicing aspects of the present technology, such asproviding a wireless network 301. As shown in FIG. 3, an exemplary 4×4MIMO radio system 300 may comprise a plurality of transmitters 305,which are associated with a structure 310, such as a tower. In someinstances, each of the transmitters associated with the plurality oftransmitters 305 are disposed at an angle of 90 degrees relative toadjacent transmitters. For example, a first transmitter may be disposedon the structure 310 such that the centerline of the first transmitterextends along a reference line corresponding to zero degrees. Threeadditional transmitters may be disposed at 90 degree increments aroundthe structure 310. In exemplary embodiments, two of the transmitters are5 GHz transmitters, and the remaining two transmitters are 24 GHztransmitters. The transmitters having the same frequency may bepositioned at 90 degrees with respect to each other, or alternativelymay be positioned on opposite sides of structure 310 (e.g., at 180degrees). In still further alternatives, each transmitter shown in FIG.3 may comprise two transmitters, which may be stacked vertically inwhich each of the two transmitters operates at a different frequencythan the other transmitter.

Correspondingly, the system 300 may also comprise a plurality ofreceivers 315, which are disposed outwardly from the plurality oftransmitters 305. Each of the plurality of receivers 315 are positionedsuch that they are in substantial alignment with at least one of theplurality of transmitters 305.

In accordance with the present technology, the plurality of transmitters305 may be configured to transmit simultaneously. That is, the pluralityof transmitters 305 may transmit data on the same channel (e.g.,frequency) as one another. According to exemplary embodiments of thepresent technology, some of the transmitters may transmit on onefrequency, while other transmitters transmit on a second frequency. Inexemplary embodiments, one of the frequencies is 5 GHz, and the other is24 GHz, and in further exemplary embodiments, two of the transmittersare 5 GHz, and the two others are 24 GHz.

Advantageously, the plurality of transmitters 305 may transmit differentdata from one another, which increases the volume and diversity of datathat can be transmitted at the same time. It will be understood thatcollocated transmitters (or receivers) may be grouped together accordingto a common time reference, such as a time slot. That is, collocatedtransmitters may be configured to transmit simultaneously according to aschedule.

The spacing of the plurality of transmitters 305 and careful timing ofthe data transmissions allow for simultaneous transmission of differentdata using the same channel. It will be understood that usingtransmitters 305 having adequate side lobe radiation rejection mayenhance the efficacy of data transmissions of the system 300.

Similarly to the plurality of transmitters 305, the plurality ofreceivers 315 may be configured to receive data simultaneously relativeto one another. In some instances, the system 300 may be synchronizedsuch that when the plurality of transmitters 305 are transmittingsimultaneously, the plurality of receivers 315 are configured to receivesimultaneously.

An exemplary system, such as the system 300 of FIG. 3, in operation mayprovide in the 80 megahertz spectrum, 802.11ac wireless datatransmission having TCP/IP bandwidth of approximately 4.8 Gbps, whichincludes 2.4 Gbps of upload bandwidth and 2.4 Gbps of downloadbandwidth, assuming the transmit/receive workload of the system 300 issplit evenly at 50 percent transmit and 50 percent receive.Advantageously, the available bandwidth of the system 300 may beselectively adjusted such that more bandwidth may be dedicated todownload bandwidth. For example, the bandwidth split may be selectivelyadjusted such that the download bandwidth is 70 percent of the totalbandwidth of the system 300 while the upload bandwidth is approximately30 percent. Such selective adjustment allows for fine tuning of thesystem 300 to service the needs of end users. For example, when endusers frequently consume more download bandwidth than upload bandwidth,the download bandwidth may be increased. This bandwidth split may beautomatically varied according to the empirical end user behavior.

According to some embodiments, the system 300 may implement signalsynchronization using, for example, GPS time references. The system 300may obtain GPS time references from a GPS satellite system (not shown).A GPS receiver 320 may be associated with each transmitter and receiverindividually and may be utilized to obtain GPS time references from theGPS satellite system. In contrast to systems that utilize a common GPSreceiver to provide GPS information to a plurality of devices,integrating the GPS receiver 320 within a device itself advantageouslyeliminates time deltas present in systems that require the transmissionof GPS information from a GPS receiver to a desired device. That is,wired or wireless transmission of GPS information between a main GPSreceiver and a plurality of devices introduces timing delays.

After placement or installation of the various transmitters andreceivers of the system 300, each transmitter may be configured toexecute a configuration cycle in order to communicatively couple itselfwith the system 300. The configuration cycle may include execution of asite survey, where the device determines whether it is a transmitter orreceiver. Because the devices used herein (such as the device of FIGS.1-C) may operate as a transmitter or a receiver, the device mayinitially determine whether it has been purposed as a transmitter or areceiver. The device may be pre-loaded (executable instructions storedin memory) with an augmented service identifier (SSID) information set.Rather than just including a typical identifier that is used to uniquelyidentify a device on a network, the augmented SSID information set ofthe present technology may additionally include location information(e.g., latitude and longitude) as well as a mode of operation andsecurity type (e.g., security protocol used by the device). The locationinformation may allow the device to deduce or determine additionaldevices with which the device has been collocated. If the device isreplacing another device, a mode of operation instruction set may beprovided to the replacement device that informs the device of itsrequired mode of operation.

The mode of operation may inform the device of its broadcast and/orreceiving schedules, as well as channel information, such as the sharedchannel utilized by the plurality of devices.

According to some embodiments, the device may, upon power up, enter intoscan mode to determine a list of collocated devices, as well asbroadcast its own SSID to other collocated devices. The device may thenexit the scan mode and perform a manual rescan, listing forconfiguration information. The device may reset configuration details todefault or factory settings. In other instances, the configurationdetails determined by the device during the scan session may beinstalled or accepted by the device.

In some instances, if a device needs to determine its locationinformation, the device may be configured to broadcast ping signals thatare received by, for example, receivers that are not collocated with thedevice. Using the time differential between transmission of a pingsignal by a device, relative to receiving of the ping signal by areceiver, an approximate distance between devices may be determined.Again, a GPS counter may track the broadcast and receipt of signals. Thesystem may compare the GPS time references associated with the broadcastand received signals to determine distance values.

In other embodiments, each device (transmitter or receiver) may utilizea media access control (MAC) layer protocol that uses GPS coordinates.When a site survey is conducted, the latitude and longitude of eachtransmitter and receiver is shown on a map, which may be displayed via agraphical user interface. In other instances, the site survey datapoints may be stored in a log file.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary method for multiple input multipleoutput (MIMO) multi-frequency transmission of data by a MIMO radio. Itwill be understood that the MIMO radio may include any of the MIMOreceivers/transmitters described above. In some instances, the MIMOradio may include at least comprise a first and second set of antennae,where the first and second set of antennae each comprise a verticallypolarized antenna and a horizontally polarized antenna.

According to some embodiments, the method may include transmitting orreceiving 405 data on the first set of antennae using a first frequency.In some instances, the first frequency may include 5 GHz.Simultaneously, or substantially so, the method includes transmitting orreceiving 410 the data on the second set of antennae using a secondfrequency. The second frequency may include, for example, 24 GHz. Whenthe same data is transmitted using the first and second sets of antennaeoperating on separate frequencies, a diversity of frequency is produced,which may at least partially compensate for interference of signalstransmitted on any one given frequency.

According to some embodiments, the method may include measuring 415upload bandwidth use and download bandwidth use of the MIMO radio, or aplurality of MIMO radios in a wireless network. That is, the MIMO radiomay be configured to monitor the actual download/upload performance ofone or more MIMO radios and use this information as a basis to adjustthe performance of the MIMO radios. Thus, in some embodiments, themethod may include selectively adjusting 420 any of an available uploadbandwidth or an available download bandwidth of the MIMO radio inresponse to the upload bandwidth use and the download bandwidth use.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary computing system 500, hereinafter system500 that may be used to implement embodiments of the present invention.The system 500 may be implemented in the contexts of the likes ofcomputing systems, networks, servers, or combinations thereof. Thesystem 500 may include one or more processors 510 and main memory 520.Main memory 520 stores, in part, instructions and data for execution byprocessor 510. Main memory 520 may store the executable code when inoperation. The system 500 may further includes a mass storage device530, portable storage device(s) 540, output devices 550, user inputdevices 560, a graphics display 570, and peripheral device(s) 580.

The components shown in FIG. 5 are depicted as being connected via asingle bus 590. The components may be connected through one or more datatransport means. Processor 510 and main memory 520 may be connected viaa local microprocessor bus, and the mass storage device 530, peripheraldevice(s) 580, portable storage device 540, and graphics display 570 maybe connected via one or more input/output (I/O) buses.

Mass storage device 530, which may be implemented with a magnetic diskdrive or an optical disk drive, is a non-volatile storage device forstoring data and instructions for use by processor 510. Mass storagedevice 530 may store the system software for implementing embodiments ofthe present invention for purposes of loading that software into mainmemory 520.

Portable storage device 540 operates in conjunction with a portablenon-volatile storage medium, such as a floppy disk, compact disk,digital video disc, or USB storage device, to input and output data andcode to and from the system. The system software for implementingembodiments of the present invention may be stored on such a portablemedium and input to the system 500 via the portable storage device 540.

User input devices 560 provide a portion of a user interface. User inputdevices 560 may include one or more microphones, an alphanumeric keypad,such as a keyboard, for inputting alpha-numeric and other information,or a pointing device, such as a mouse, a trackball, stylus, or cursordirection keys. User input devices 560 may also include a touchscreen.Additionally, the system 500 as shown in FIG. 5 includes output devices550. Suitable output devices include speakers, printers, networkinterfaces, and monitors.

Graphics display 570 may include a liquid crystal display (LCD) or othersuitable display device. Graphics display 570 receives textual andgraphical information, and processes the information for output to thedisplay device.

Peripheral devices 580 may be included and may include any type ofcomputer support device to add additional functionality to the computersystem.

The components provided in the system 500 are those typically found incomputer systems that may be suitable for use with embodiments of thepresent invention and are intended to represent a broad category of suchcomputer components that are well known in the art. Thus, the system 500may be a personal computer, hand held computing system, telephone,mobile computing system, workstation, server, minicomputer, mainframecomputer, or any other computing system. The computer may also includedifferent bus configurations, networked platforms, multi-processorplatforms, etc. Various operating systems may be used including Unix,Linux, Windows, Mac OS, Palm OS, Android, iOS (known as iPhone OS beforeJune 2010), QNX, and other suitable operating systems.

It is noteworthy that any hardware platform suitable for performing theprocessing described herein is suitable for use with the embodimentsprovided herein. Computer-readable storage media refer to any medium ormedia that participate in providing instructions to a central processingunit (CPU), a processor, a microcontroller, or the like. Such media maytake forms including, but not limited to, non-volatile and volatilemedia such as optical or magnetic disks and dynamic memory,respectively. Common forms of computer-readable storage media include afloppy disk, a flexible disk, a hard disk, magnetic tape, any othermagnetic storage medium, a CD-ROM disk, digital video disk (DVD),Blu-ray Disc (BD), any other optical storage medium, RAM, PROM, EPROM,EEPROM, FLASH memory, and/or any other memory chip, module, orcartridge.

While this technology is susceptible of embodiment in many differentforms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described indetail several specific embodiments with the understanding that thepresent disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of theprinciples of the technology and is not intended to limit the technologyto the embodiments illustrated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for multiple input multiple output(MIMO) multi-frequency transmission of data by a MIMO radio comprising afirst and second set of antennas, wherein the first and second set ofantennas each comprise a vertically polarized antenna and a horizontallypolarized antenna, the method comprising: transmitting or receiving dataon the first set of antennas using a first frequency; transmitting orreceiving the data on the second set of antennas using a secondfrequency; providing isolation between each of the first frequency andthe second frequency to avoid intermodulation distortion; and whereinthe first frequency is a single channel in a 5 Ghz band and the secondfrequency is another channel in the same 5 Ghz band, wherein thechannels share the first and second set of antennas such that a singleantenna on each polarization is utilized, for a total of two antennas.2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first frequency is 5 Ghzand the second frequency is 24 Ghz.
 3. The method according to claim 1,further comprising transmitting additional data on either the first orsecond set of antennas, the additional data being different from thedata.
 4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising executinginstructions stored in non-transitory memory of the MIMO radio, whereinexecution of the instructions causes the MIMO radio to performoperations comprising broadcasting an augmented SSID to other collocatedMIMO radios, wherein the augmented SSID includes a unique deviceidentifier and any of a broadcast operation mode and a security typeused by the MIMO radio.
 5. A multiple input multiple output (MIMO)radio, comprising: a processor; a non-transitory memory for storingmulti-frequency transmission logic; two 2×2 radio frequency (RF)converters each tuned to a unique channel in a 5 GHz band; a first setof antennas comprising a first vertically polarized antenna and a firsthorizontally polarized antenna; a second set of antennas comprising asecond vertically polarized antenna and a second horizontally polarizedantenna; and wherein the processor executes the multi-frequencytransmission logic to cause the first set of antennas to transmit orreceive data using one of the unique channels, and the second set ofantennas to transmit or receive the data using another of the uniquechannels, as well as measure upload bandwidth use and download bandwidthuse of the MIMO radio and selectively adjust any of an available uploadbandwidth or an available download bandwidth of the MIMO radio inresponse to the upload bandwidth use and the download bandwidth use. 6.The MIMO radio according to claim 5, further comprising a concentricwaveguide having an inner waveguide and an outer waveguide, wherein thefirst set of antennas are disposed within the outer waveguide and thesecond set of antennas are disposed within the inner waveguide.
 7. TheMIMO radio according to claim 5, wherein the first vertically polarizedantenna and the first horizontally polarized antenna of the first set ofantennas are positioned on opposing sides of an inner waveguide.
 8. TheMIMO radio according to claim 5, wherein the second vertically polarizedantenna and the second horizontally polarized antenna of the second setof antennas are positioned on opposing sides of an outer waveguide. 9.The MIMO radio according to claim 5, wherein the first verticallypolarized antenna and the first horizontally polarized antenna of thefirst set of antennas are spaced apart from one another to createspatial diversity and the second vertically polarized antenna and thesecond horizontally polarized antenna of the second set of antennas arespaced apart from one another to create spatial diversity, wherein thespatial diversity of the first and second sets of antennas enhancesignal orthogonality.
 10. The MIMO radio according to claim 5, whereineither the first or second set of antennas are configured to transmitadditional data, the additional data being different from the data. 11.The MIMO radio according to claim 5, wherein the processor furtherexecutes the multi-frequency transmission logic to perform aconfiguration cycle that includes executing a site survey to determineif the MIMO radio is to operate as a transmitter or a receiver.
 12. Awireless network, comprising: a radio frequency (RF) front-end thatshares a low noise amplifier for each unique channel utilized by aplurality of MIMO radios in orthogonal polarization, each comprising: aprocessor; a non-transitory memory for storing multi-frequencytransmission logic wherein the processor executes the multi-frequencytransmission logic to broadcast an augmented SSID to other collocatedMIMO radios, wherein the augmented SSID includes a unique deviceidentifier and any of a broadcast operation mode and a security typeused by an MIMO radio, wherein the augmented SSID further comprises anyof a broadcast or receive schedule, channel information, and sharedchannel information that is utilized by the MIMO radio as well as theother collocated MIMO radios; a first set of antennas comprising a firstvertically polarized antenna and a first horizontally polarized antenna,the first set of antennas being configured to transmit or receive datausing a first frequency; a second set of antennas comprising a secondvertically polarized antenna and a second horizontally polarizedantenna, the second set of antennas being configured to transmit orreceive data using a second frequency which is different from the firstfrequency; and wherein a first portion of the MIMO radios are configuredto transmit data using their first and second sets of antennas, while asecond portion of the MIMO radios are configured to receive data fromthe first portion of the MIMO radios using their first and second setsof antennas.
 13. A dual-channel 5 GHz system, comprising: two antennasin orthogonal polarization; a 4×4 baseband processor; two 2×2 radiofrequency (RF) converters each tuned to a unique channel in a 5 GHzband; an RF front-end that shares a low noise amplifier for each of theunique channels; and power amplifiers that provide isolation betweeneach of the unique channels to avoid intermodulation distortion.
 14. Thesystem according to claim 13, further comprising a hybrid couplerassociated with outputs of the power amplifiers.
 15. The systemaccording to claim 14, further comprising a transmit-receive switchcommunicatively coupled with the hybrid coupler.
 16. The systemaccording to claim 13, wherein two polarizations are on a first of theunique channels and another two polarizations are on a second of theunique channels.
 17. The system according to claim 13, furthercomprising a quadrature amplitude modulation decoder that separates fourstreams created by the dual-channel 5 GHz system.
 18. A method formultiple input multiple output (MIMO) multi-frequency transmission ofdata by a MIMO radio comprising a first and second set of antennas,wherein the first and second set of antennas each comprise a verticallypolarized antenna and a horizontally polarized antenna, the methodcomprising: transmitting or receiving data on the first set of antennasusing a first frequency; transmitting or receiving the data on thesecond set of antennas using a second frequency; providing isolationbetween each of the first frequency and the second frequency to avoidintermodulation distortion; and wherein if multiple channels are usedwithin a same band, an RF front-end performance per polarization isoptimized using a shared low-noise amplifier between channels to createa best noise figure, and distinct power amplifiers between channels,combined at an output, for best distortion performance.
 19. A method formultiple input multiple output (MIMO) multi-frequency transmission ofdata by a MIMO radio comprising a first and second set of antennas,wherein the first and second set of antennas each comprise a verticallypolarized antenna and a horizontally polarized antenna, the methodcomprising: transmitting or receiving data on the first set of antennasusing a first frequency; transmitting or receiving the data on thesecond set of antennas using a second frequency; providing isolationbetween each of the first frequency and the second frequency to avoidintermodulation distortion; measuring upload bandwidth use and downloadbandwidth use of the MIMO radio; and selectively adjusting any of anavailable upload bandwidth or an available download bandwidth of theMIMO radio in response to the upload bandwidth use and the downloadbandwidth use.
 20. The method according to claim 19, further comprisingbroadcasting an augmented SSID, the augmented SSID comprising any of abroadcast or receive schedule, channel information, and shared channelinformation that is utilized by the MIMO radio as well as othercollocated MIMO radios.
 21. A method for multiple input multiple output(MIMO) multi-frequency transmission of data by a MIMO radio comprising afirst and second set of antennas, wherein the first and second set ofantennas each comprise a vertically polarized antenna and a horizontallypolarized antenna, the first and second set of antennas being inorthogonal polarization, the method comprising: executing aconfiguration cycle that comprises performing a site survey to determineif the MIMO radio is to operate as a transmitter or a receiver;transmitting or receiving data on the first set of antennas using afirst frequency; and transmitting or receiving the data on the secondset of antennas using a second frequency.